Phantom Lawyer (신이랑 법률사무소)

ALL FIGURES, INCIDENTS, LOCATIONS,

ORGANIZATIONS, AND OTHERS ARE FICTITIOUS.

CHILD ACTORS AND ANIMALS WERE FILMED SAFELY

IN ACCORDANCE WITH GUIDELINES.

SHIN I-RANG, HAN NA-HYUN LAW OFFICE

How may I help you?

Ma'am!

So that's why I didn't see you lately.

Did you pass away?

You struggled so much, only to pass away like this.

- Ouch! - What are you saying?

I'm not dead yet.

Oh.

- Geez. - You really aren't dead!

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

You silly young man.

Unbelievable.

You came early. I bought some coffee for you.

Hello.

Oh, dear.

I can see her too.

Attorney Han, this is…

I can even touch her.

Of course, you can. She's not a ghost.

She's not?

Why are you both so eager to call me dead?

- I'm sorry. - Sorry about that.

Ma'am, why don't we sit down and talk?

Sure.

Who is she?

She's a close acquaintance of mine.

What brings you here?

I'm here to meet you, young attorney.

Why?

Did you get caught up in any trouble?

No, nothing like that.

It's because of my late husband.

Does he perhaps have silver hair, bushy eyebrows…

And a handsome face?

Oh, my.

Words say the attorney here is nearly psychic.

It must be true.

An attorney doesn't need psychic powers.

Oh, my head!

Did your husband have some kind of disease?

Well,

he had Alzheimer's.

He came back to his senses from time to time,

but most of the time, he only had memories of his earlier years.

It must've been hard.

Did he perhaps have something to do with shoes?

How did you know?

He was a shoemaker.

Even when we met the first time,

he was making shoes.

YEAR 1979

He was awfully rude to me.

- At the time… - So I

Seoul was a magical city where everything changed overnight.

I was a young girl with splendid dreams.

Still, he's a premed student at Hanguk University.

Isn't he great husband material?

So what if he's great husband material?

I'm the one who's going to be the best.

That sounds so like you.

Even so, it's a shame.

There isn't anyone suited to be your husband as much as he is.

What are you doing?

I'm leaving without you.

He's so cool.

Are you here for new shoes?

Excuse me?

The showroom is over there. This is the workshop.

I know that.

And what I need isn't new shoes…

But you.

Back then, I was preparing to open my own shop

with the marriage fund I got from my parents

after graduating from a famous fashion academy.

Shoes that make you happy as soon as you wear them.

Shoes that feel like they will take you somewhere nice.

To make the finest shoes made with sincerity.

That was my dream.

MERRY SHOES

The best kind of shoes aren't made simply with money and skills.

Without fine leather, the best kind of shoes cannot exist.

I also know that quality leather is a must.

Which company's leather do you want?

Is it imported leather?

From Italy? France?

There's someone I want you to meet.

Seon Hwa was from Hamgyong, North Korea.

- Seon Hwa. - She burnished the leather alone

without anyone's help.

Her leather was soft like a feather, yet strong like metal.

I fell in love with it straightaway.

IDEAL SHOES

Don't be nervous.

Everyone, relax.

One, two, three.

- One more time. - That was how

- we opened Ideal Shoes. - One, two, three.

Ideal Shoes? Do you mean that Ideal Shoes?

Yes, that's the one.

Seriously?

My heels right now are Ideal Shoes.

Oh, that.

It's from our steady-selling line that's been produced since 1981.

You have an eye for shoes.

Wow.

I see you in a whole new light.

But why did you quit working?

You're still healthy and well.

I had to focus on something more important than work.

Anyway,

the three of us opened this shop alone with a small budget,

but we were confident in the products we made.

- They're so pretty. - That's how our shoes

started to fill the display cabinets.

More and more people loved our products.

One, two, three.

- Smile a little more. - We'd make shoes all night,

but we couldn't stop smiling.

IDEAL SHOES

Get in closer.

One, two, three.

It was when I learned

that Seon Hwa left behind her newborn baby in North Korea.

What are you doing?

I was making a wish.

To meet my son in North Korea again.

Oh.

I'll also make a prayer

for your wish to come true.

Me too.

We felt like we had the world.

We had nothing to fear.

Not until

Seon Hwa got arrested.

She was accused of being a spy.

It turned out

Seon Hwa was sending money to North Korea.

Let me go!

She explained that the money was for her family in the North.

- Wait. Let go! - She's innocent.

- She isn't a spy. - Seon Hwa!

However,

what we got in return was a frightening threat.

They questioned if we were also involved.

If so, Ideal Shoes was to close down right away.

My husband and I couldn't say a thing.

If the company closed down,

dozens of employees were to go jobless.

And their families added up to hundreds.

In the end,

we could do nothing but hope that she'd be released safely.

The years went by.

When we went to visit her,

she was

already dead.

We made her grave on a hill where North Korea was visible

and buried her cremation urn there.

It was devastating.

Only if we had visited her sooner…

Only if we hadn't cared about the company and saved her…

Then, she may still be alive.

Struggling with regret, we made up our minds

to find her son in North Korea

and give her share to him.

Please make sure to find him.

I'm sorry.

I see. Thank you for your hard work, though.

I'm sorry.

I see. Thank you.

We appreciate it.

But it wasn't easy to find her son.

WILL

My husband ended up

writing a will about leaving him an inheritance out of anxiety.

And after a year since he passed away,

her son,

Cha Eun Seong, was found at last.

It says the heir must provide

one-third of the inheritance to Ms. Ryeo Seon Hwa's son,

Cha Eun Seong, if he is found at any time.

Most of the inheritance is the shares of Ideal Shoes.

The company will be at stake if one-third of it is given to him.

Ms. Ryeo Seon Hwa's contributions to Ideal Shoes are mentioned as a reason.

The case will be in our favor if your mother is against this will.

What's her opinion?

My mother thinks it's only right to do as my father's will says.

She told Cha Eun Seong about my father's will herself.

She's always been like this.

She can't stand to enjoy any luxuries

when Ms. Ryeo wrongfully passed away in prison.

- Thank you. Have a great day. - Thank you. Enjoy.

She lives alone in an old, small house.

She sells vegetables on the street no matter how hard I try to stop her.

Welcome.